Tainted Eggs Spread Across 17 Countries in Europe, Affecting Hong Kong, China; Egg Product Ingredients Should Also Be Inspected
The European tainted-egg storm is widening by the day and has now affected 17 countries (regions). The fallout has spread from Europe and crossed the ocean to Hong Kong, China. Even Italy, which produces 95% of its own eggs, has seized a batch of French food products made with tainted eggs. The Italian farmers' association Coldiretti warned, "We do not know how many derived ingredients from tainted Dutch eggs have been used to make pasta or desserts." Egg products that are "broken down into parts" - such as shelled eggs, fresh yolks, egg powder and frozen eggs - should all be traced and laid out in the open.
Fipronil-contaminated eggs spread to Hong Kong, China
At a press conference on August 11, the European Commission said the eggs contaminated with the insecticide fipronil had affected 17 countries (regions), including Hong Kong, China. The Centre for Food Safety of Hong Kong, China also confirmed that two samples of "Fresh Dutch Brown Eggs" taken from the market showed fipronil levels above the limit, and the importer has been ordered to take them off shelves and recall them.
It is worth noting that the tainted eggs detected in Hong Kong, China did not come from the problem egg batch numbers published by the Netherlands; they came from other batches of egg products imported from the Netherlands that were tested independently, and two samples were found to have pesticide residues above the limit, Hong Kong, China issued a statement that, in addition to immediately suspending sales of that batch of egg products, it would also adopt preventive measures, and that all poultry eggs imported from the Netherlands would be held for inspection from that day onward, and would only be released and supplied for market sale once test results were satisfactory.
Organic eggs also affected
Dutch police arrested two managers of the company ChickFriend on the 10th. Current evidence points to ChickFriend, which handles pest control, purchasing a red mite treatment from Belgium's Poultry Vision. Perhaps to strengthen its effect, this Belgian manufacturer bought fipronil from the more loosely regulated Eastern European country Romania and mixed it into the legal pesticide Dega16.
Dega16, made from menthol and eucalyptus components, is regarded as a natural material. Organic egg farmers also buy it for use, and this tainted-egg incident has affected organic eggs as well.
"The 48,000 eggs with the number 0NL43651-01 have probably already reached consumers," said French Agriculture Minister Stephane Travert. The "0" at the start of 0NL43651-01 indicates organic farming, while NL means it came from the Netherlands.
The Netherlands admits it made a major mistake
As the tainted-egg scandal snowballs, the Netherlands, which produces 10 billion eggs a year, admits it made a major mistake. "Every crisis stems from an error, and this one is no exception," said Dutch Health Minister Edith Schippers.
In November last year, the Netherlands received a tip-off that fipronil residues had been found at a poultry farm. Schippers said: "When we heard these signs and suspicions at the time, we should have taken measures and analyzed the situation as soon as possible, and the European Commission should also have stepped into this process."
A thousand pieces of gold cannot buy foresight, and the tainted eggs spreading everywhere are already beyond recovery. The only thing left to hope for is that, just as with avian flu and mad cow disease, the EU can learn from this experience and grow wiser.